beet, carrot, apple and ginger juice – no juicer required

Here’s another juice that I’m currently loving that you can make without a juicer. Yaay! I love that I can juice at home without requiring the use of an expensive juicer. It just makes me happy. I have 2 other juices on the blog that you can make without a juicer as well, my mean green juice and my carrot, grapefruit and ginger juice. They all taste great and each one of them has a special kick to it from the ginger. I made this juice up one afternoon and Zoe and John looked at it and decided to call it vamp juice, because it sort of looks like blood, but don’t worry, it doesn’t taste like blood.

I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of beets. I mean I’ll eat a beet salad from time to time, but beets are a bit too earthy tasting for me. I do like the way the beets taste in this juice though. They blend in beautifully with the sweetness of the carrots and apple and the spiciness of the ginger. For some reason, I love ginger in my juices, as it lends such a spicy kick to your juice. This is the perfect juice to sip on post workout of for an afternoon snack. You may get some stares as you drink this and have people come up and ask you what the heck you’re drinking, and you may even get hit on by a few local vampires (on that note, maybe you should just drink this juice during the day time). You all know I’m kidding right? Anyway, let’s move on and make up some juice. BTW, if you have a juicer, go ahead and omit the water and throw the below ingredients into your juicer.

Nutritional benefits of beets: Beets are high in immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium (essential for healthy nerve and muscle function) and manganese (which is good for your bones, liver, kidneys, and pancreas). Beets also contain the B vitamin folate, which helps reduce the risk of birth defects. They’re great for the liver, as they stimulate the liver’s detoxifying processes. The pigment (betacyanin) in beets is a powerful anti-cancer fighting agent and that paired with the high fiber content of beets help protect against colon cancer. They’re also rich in carotenoids, which may help boot brain functioning and stave off depression.

beet, carrot, apple and ginger juice – no juicer required:

3/4 cup water – use this only if you’re using a blender to make this juice, if you’re using a juicer, then omit this ingredient

1 large or 2 medium beets, scrubbed, ends removed and cut into wedges

2 large carrots, washed, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large apple, cut into wedges (core removed) – I used a fuji apple

a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled

1/2 lemon, zest and pith removed

If you don’t have a juicer, then all you need is a good quality blender and a jelly strainer bag (see below photo). You can find these bags at most kitchen or hardware stores that sell kitchen appliances. I picked mine up at the local Ace Hardware in Larkspur, for those of you that are local. They cost $4.99 for 2 bags. BTW, don’t get the metal contraption that is sold with some of the bags, just buy the bags.

To clean the bags, just use some dish soap and rub the bag together till it’s clean and all the soap is off the bag. Then place the bag on top of a glass or something similar to air dry. These bags should last quite a while. I have used my 10x already and it still looks new.

Let’s first start by washing your beets. I didn’t peel my beets, but you can peel yours if you want. I just took a brush that I use to scrub potatoes with, and scrubbed the beets while I rinsed them under water.

Chop off both ends of the beets.

Cut them into chunks.

Peel your ginger. To peel your ginger, just use the back of a spoon.

Wash and chop your apple into chunks (be sure to chop around the core), peel and chop up your carrots, cut your lemon in half and then peel off the skin. Peeling a lemon is just like peeling an orange. There you go, all of your ingredients are ready to be juiced!

If you have a juicer, then please juice away. If you don’t have a juicer, then follow along with me.

Get out your blender and pour in the 3/4 cup of water and then add in the beets, carrots, apple, ginger and lemon.

Puree all of the ingredients until smooth. You will notice that the juice is rather chunky.

Take your jelly bag and wrap it over a large measuring cup or bowl.

Pour your juice into the jelly bag.

Don’t worry if your bag slides off the bowl, you just want to make sure that your juice goes in the bag. You can aways hold it open with one hand while pouring with your other hand.

Look at all that chunky juice! Yum!

Once all the juice is poured into the bag, remove the bag from the measuring cup or bowl and gently twist the top of the bag closed. Slowly twist the bag so the juice escapes. Keep twisting and squeezing the bag until all of the juice is released. I will warn you that you’re going to have some pretty red hands after, but the red will come off after a few good hand washings.

See all of that pulp that’s left in the bag! It’s a beautiful color, but not something I want to be ingesting. You can toss all that extra pulp into your compost.

Pour the juice into a glass and enjoy right away, or put it in the refrigerator for a few to let it chill a bit.

Like beets? Then try my beet, ginger and coconut soup! This soup tastes like beets, but the ginger, coconut oil and coconut milk help to soften the earthy flavor of the beets and gives them a subtle sweetness. The pureed texture of the soup is creamy, light and soft!I’m a HUGE fan of these roasted matchstick beets with coconut oil. They’re a nutrient dense, vitamin packed, vegan, carb-free topping to replace the standard old croutons for your next salad or soup. Roasting beets in coconut oil brings out their natural sweetness, and their earthy pungent flavor goes dormant, and come on, sea salt brings out the natural flavor in any fruit or vegetable and adds a pop of crunch to boot! These roasted beets are caramelized and a bit crunchy on the outside, and soft and tender on the inside. Delish!

¾ cup water - use this only if you're using a blender to make this juice, if you're using a juicer, then omit this ingredient

1 large or 2 medium beets, scrubbed, ends removed and cut into wedges

2 large carrots, washed, peeled and cut into chunks

1 large apple, cut into wedges (core removed) - I used a fuji apple

a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled

½ lemon, zest and pith removed

Instructions

If you don’t have a juicer, then all you need is a good quality blender and a jelly strainer bag (see photo in my post). You can find these bags at most kitchen or hardware stores that sell kitchen appliances. I picked mine up at the local Ace Hardware in Larkspur, for those of you that are local. They cost $4.99 for 2 bags. BTW, don’t get the metal contraption that is sold with some of the bags, just buy the bags.

To clean the bags, just use some dish soap and rub the bag together till it’s clean and all the soap is off the bag. Then place the bag on top of a glass or something similar to air dry. These bags should last quite a while. I have used my 10x already and it still looks new.

Let's first start by washing your beets. I didn't peel my beets, but you can peel yours if you want. I just took a brush that I use to scrub potatoes with, and scrubbed the beets while I rinsed them under water.

Chop off both ends of the beets and then cut them into chunks.

Peel your ginger. To peel your ginger, just use the back of a spoon.

Wash and chop your apple into chunks (be sure to chop around the core), peel and chop up your carrots, cut your lemon in half and then peel off the skin. Peeling a lemon is just like peeling an orange. There you go, all of your ingredients are ready to be juiced!

If you have a juicer, then please juice away. If you don't have a juicer, then follow along with me.

Get out your blender and pour in the ¾ cup of water and then add in the beets, carrots, apple, ginger and lemon.

Puree all of the ingredients until smooth. You will notice that the juice is rather chunky.

Take your jelly bag and wrap it over a large measuring cup or bowl.

Pour your juice into the jelly bag.

Don’t worry if your bag slides off the bowl, you just want to make sure that your juice goes in the bag. You can aways hold it open with one hand while pouring with your other hand.

Once all the juice is poured into the bag, remove the bag from the measuring cup or bowl and gently twist the top of the bag closed. Slowly twist the bag so the juice escapes. Keep twisting and squeezing the bag until all of the juice is released. I will warn you that you're going to have some pretty red hands after, but the red will come off after a few good hand washings.

Toss all that extra pulp into your compost.

Pour the juice into a glass and enjoy right away, or put it in the refrigerator for a few to let it chill a bit.

Hi Adriana! You could try it. I’m not sure how it would taste, or if it would be too pulpy, but go ahead and give it a try and let me know how it is if you do! I know there are tons of things you can do with leftover pulp, if you don’t want to waste it. Here’s a great link. http://www.prolificjuicing.com/use-juice-pulp/
xoxo, Jacquelyn

Hi Sara! So happy to hear that you loved the beet juice. I love the addition of coconut milk. I will defiantly have to try that next time. It actually reminds me of my beet, ginger and coconut soup! 🙂 xoxo, Jacquelyn

Thank you for this recipe! I have been wanting to try beets but have been wary. I had bought the beets but haven’t used them yet because I wasn’t sure what would go right together. When I read this, I pulled out my juicer and all the ingredients which I had on hand, and made it. My 6 year old son helped me too. We both drank it and went nuts over it! This is so delicious! If you do juice it, it wont make much so I would suggest doubling the recipe. Thanks for the post, it is one of our favorites now and we aren’t afraid of beets anymore 😉

Hi Emily! Yaaay! I’m so happy that you found my recipe and that you and your 6 year old loved this juice! Wow, I’m super impressed that your 6 year old loved it. My kids won’t touch it! When I bring up juice and beets, they cringe and sneak out of the kitchen! You have a pretty cool 6 year old! I have another great “green” juice on the blog that you might like as well. Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! xoxo, Jacquelyn

I went out and bought all the ingredients. I couldn’t find raw beets in the supermarket then I magically stumbled across a produce stand in the middle of a shopping mall and the guy had tons of beets. I spent £15 and got 90 big beets, he loved me thought I was nuts and gave me a bunch of free fruit too!

I used a blentec and it was so easy to squeeze the juice out with the cloth, no mess here. Hands didn’t stain either.

This made 500ml of beet juice and I drink beet juice everyday as a runner/cyclist for natural doping and as a vegan for sugars. I love the energy raw beet juice gives me. I was paying £3 for a bottle of (Beet It!) at 700ml so this is gonna save me so much money.

Awesome Nathan! I’m so happy that you found this recipe and that it worked for you and that it’s saving you money! It’s a win all around! I’m also glad to hear that your hands didn’t stain from the beets. Mine are usually red for a couple of hours after! Enjoy the beet juice Nathan and thanks for saying hi!
xoxo, Jacquelyn

Just made it and it is delicious. I did the vitamin method. Do you still get a bit of sediments after straining the first time using the same jelly straining bag. I had to restrain by pouring into a very fine mesh strainer afterwards.

Hi D! I didn’t get too much sediment, but to be honest I haven’t made this juice in a while, so I may have forgotten. I do remember that it tasted great and not gritty at all. I hope that helps! xoxo, Jackie

I start enjoying this juice when I went to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico last year. It was an active vacation, 4h/day dedicated to exercising. Each morning after work out, fresh carrot/apple/ginger juice was made for us; and then one day, here’s was a bowl of beet sitting on the table { sorry I like beets}. I ask the lady to add one in mine, whoa, that was the best tasting juice I had
Whenever I can I made a big container and at least have it three time a week. Being a vegetarian, and another issue, I tend to be on the cusp of anemia. So it was with great pleasure that not only this is tasty, it brought my blood count up from December to March
Jazz

Hi Jacemine! What a great story. That trip actually sounds fun and right up my alley. I’m glad you could get home and find a juice to make that reminded you of the amazing juice on your trip. Thanks so much for sharing and cheers! xoxo, Jackie

Im so in love with my NutriBullet and was wanting to incorporate beets as well. Your fab information about beets was perf! I want to know all YOU know about “Drinking my Nutrients”! Happy Easter, Happy Life! I look forward to reading your scoop!

The pictures match the step by step easy to understand instructions perfectly. I came upon your website as I was trying to clarify if the term ” beet root” meant the beet itself or the leafy stem section. Additionally,I now know how to peel ginger.
The nutritional value of this recipe far out weighs the palate preference. Thank you for the posting.

I went to our local Ace Hardware and bought the jelly strainer bags. Can’t wait to try this juice recipe now. Does this makes about 2 cups of juice? How long can you refrigerate this? Thanks for posting this recipe.

Hi! Yes, it makes 2 cups of juice. I would acutally drink it up right away as it’s not a cold pressed juice, so it’s recommeneded that you drink a juice that’s not cold pressed right away. I can usually guzzle this down in the course of an hour for lunch! I hope you love it 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

Hi Vickie! I’m so happy that you liked the juice! I’m not a huge beet fan either, but the ginger really diffuses the beet flavor. Yes, beet juice is messy and stains the fingers for a bit! xoxo, Jackie

I love beets as does my husband though he prefers them pickled whereas I prefer them plain cooked like potatoes and served with butter and sour cream,, we both love beet borscht. I’m wondering if I use my juicer to juice my beets will I still be having to strain them?

Hi, I tried your juice for three days, now. I feel that I have regained some of the stamina I’ve lost since I gave birth and and it tastes quite okay although still rather earthy (I change the lime with oranges as my tummy couldn’t handle lime). My question is, I notice that my pee is rather pinkish after I drink the juice. Is it because I drink it everyday or what? The pinkishness go away, though. It is only right after I drink the juice. Does this happen to you, too?

Hi Michelle! So happy to hear that you’re loving the beet juice. Have you tried the mean green juice on my blog? That one tastes a bit better and less earthy. Yes, it’s quite common to have a pinkish red color to your pee the day of and even the next day. You also may notice some red in your stool which is common as well. It freaked me out at first, until my friends told me its just the beet juice. 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

Hi Camilla. I have a vitamix blender and it can puree most anything, but I don’t know aobut a smoothie maker. I guess I would suggest that you just try it and see if your smoothie maker can puree it all. If it can puree it, then you’re all good to go. Somtimes you may need to add more water if the blender gets stuck or stops blending. 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

I am from India. I am told that eating raw beets you run the risk of tapeworms in your system. one way to avoid this is to steep the beet in boiling water for a few minutes. Does this destroy the nutritional value of beets?

I have never heard of raw beets giving you tapeworms, so I can’t vouch for that, but I do know that that raw beets are better for you than cooked beets. The longer you cook them the less nutritious they become. I think boiling them for a few minutes is therefore not going to affect their nutritional value too much because you’re not boiling them for an extended period of time. I would let them cool before adding them to the juice though. 🙂

Dumb question, perhaps?? I just got a vitamix and have made a couple green smoothies/drinks (and used pineapple, blueberries, carrots, apples, spinach, kale, mango) and the drinks are very thick/frothy…are you suppose to strain all your veggie drinks, like this recipe calls? What harm is there drinking them unstrained??
Vitamix Newbie ;o)

Hi Joey! First off, there are no dumb questions 😉 You do not need to strain veggie smoothie. This particular juice as well as the mean green one I strain because I don’t like drinking the raw ginger or beet. I actually drink and make more smoothies than juices. I have a few favorite smoothie on my blog that you should try. If you’re looking for a pure veggie and fruit one, here is my favorite. http://www.marinmamacooks.com/2011/10/kale-spinach-smoothie/ Here’s the link to all of my smoothie recipes. http://www.marinmamacooks.com/category/smoothies-juices/
I would suggest adding more water/coconut water to taste if your smoothies are coming out too thick. The liquid will help the smoothie thin out. Honestly, there are no right or wrong ways to make a smoothie. Just throw in whatever veggie or fruit calls out to you and blend it together, add more liquid when needed. Sometimes you will get a winning combination and other times you will get something that doesn’t taste too great. Yesterday I threw together some frozen mango, apple, coconut water, flax seed and 2 cups spinach and it was great! Frozen mango and pineapple seem to go with just about anything! Those are my two favorite frozen fruits to add to kale or spinach. Let me know if you have any more questions and congrats on getting a viatmix. I use mine everyday! I make smoothies in it, puree soups and even make peanut and almond butter! xoxo, Jackie

THANKS!! I just made it & strained it! I added lime too 😉 what a mess it is to work with the beets though (color) ugh! but I really enjoy this ABC juice…i’m getting a ‘buzz’ actually haha. part of my disability is in my hands so the straining part was not fun (but that’s just due to physical pain using my hands). I will bookmark the links you shared and are you on fb??

Hi Joey! Yaay! So glad it worked for you and that you enjoyed it. Yes, working with beets is messy and your hands might be red for a while 🙂 If it’s too hard on your hands, just know that that I have some amazing smoothie recipes as well and smoothies are super good for you too 🙂 I saw that you found me on FB, but to be honest, FB isn’t the best way to get updates as they only show my updates to 10% of the population. If you want to see when I post, you can subscribe via email. You will get a post notification within 5 minutes of my most recent post. Thanks for the shares on FB, I totally appreciate it! xoxo, Jackie

I made this juice in my little manual juicer this a.m. and I love it… I won’t say I *like* beet juice, but I found with this one that the ginger and the lemon juice took away a lot of that beety taste.; I will definitely be doing it again.

I never succumbed to buying a more expensive juicer because there is just me at home and I wasn’t sure I’d even use it long term. However, I came across this little manual juicer which is pretty much meant for greens and I have used it a lot. I have put through apples, carrots (made into sticks) and even beets. It was only $50, so I figured if I didn’t use it I’d only be out the $50 and not $300+….. A larger juicer may be more efficient but for the amount I make, it’s a moot point. It makes great juice

Hi Gail! I feel the same way about beet juice. I only like it when it has ginger and lemon mixed in. Beets on their own are just too earthy tasting for me. I’m glad you enjoyed the juice. 🙂
Thanks so much for the link to the juicer. I think it’s a great little juicer and a great price as well. I might have to invest in one 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

Hi Tanya! I know, it’s a bummer that all that fiber is put to waste, that’s why I don’t juice too often and usually just make up smoothies. I always just compost my pulp. I did find a great link from the kitchn that gives some helpful ideas on what to do with leftover pulp. I may actually try one of these next time I juice. http://www.thekitchn.com/7-ways-to-use-juicer-pulp-131801 🙂

What a nice alternative to having to use a juicer to make this stuff. I happen to love beets and I’m always happy to find new ways of using them. I was into juicing, quite a bit, a couple of summers ago, however the cleaning of the juicer and taking it apart and putting it back together etc etc grew tedious. I love the idea of not having to go through all that with your post idea!

Hi Dan! I’m so glad you stumbled on my blog. I have never tried using a juicer, but I have heard that they’re a pain to clean. Friends of mine started juicing with their juicers, and now they just make their juices with the jelly bags and blenders because it’s just easier.
I prefer my blender as It’s a cinch to clean and it can be used for so many different things rather than just juicing. I hope you give this juice a try! 🙂

Ha Ha Reba! Yes, I did watch True Blood a few years back! Zoe and John were thinking more in regards to the Twilight series. Yes, I agree with you, I prefer beets in a juice and with a nice piece of ginger to spice it up! 🙂

Okay so there is one last thing we don’t have in common and that is beets. I am just not a huge fan? I know I should be! they are easy and have a gorgeous color and so healthy but I feel like they are so much hassle. I mean to wash and peel and use gloves and all that just doesn’t do anything for me. HOWEVER with that said- this juice does look amazing. I wonder if I could use some type of berries in place of the beets? what do you think?

Hi Jessica. Yes, we do have that in common though, because I’m typically not a fan of beets. I tolerate them, but they are not my veggie of choice. I did like them in this juice though! I also didn’t peel these either, I just washed them, chopped them up and threw them in the blender, but I did get red beet hands from squeezing the pulp, yuck! Sure, try some berries or you can even throw some greens in there like kale or something. Juicing is whatever you want, that’s the great thing about it. It’s like making a marina sauce, you can throw in whatever you want! xoxo, Jackie

I am not a big fan of beets either, I describe it as eating dirt! If you feel the same way but like this juice, I might have to give it a try just to branch out a little with the beets. Rick loves them though!
Hope your summer is still going well. We have been having rain and thunderstorms the last couple days but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 80! We’ll see about that. 🙂 xoxo, Sharon

Hey you! Wow, I’m realizing that they’re not too many beet lovers out there. I thought I was one of the few, as John and all of my friends LOVE beets. Like I said, I tolerate them, but they are not my veggie of choice, but they did taste good in this juice.
It was rainy and cold here on Monday and Tuesday, yuck, now it’s 100 degrees out! It went from one extreme to the next. I will happily take the warm over the cold though. I hope it warmed up for you so you can hang in your beautiful garden. 🙂 xoxo, Jackie

LOL, I felt the same way about beets, everyone around me (except Jake) seems to like them too. 🙂
I’m with you, I’ll take the warmer over colder any day. It has been beautiful here, 80s! I’m loving it. 🙂

Ok, I’m going to trust you on this one. I made a juice once with beets and it was way too earthy for me, I went from super excited to nearly tears. I was trying to replicate a vegetable juice and failed miserably. 🙁

Hey girl! It still tastes like beets, so if you really don’t like them, then you may not like the juice. The ginger helps take away the earthy taste, but you can still taste the beets. I don’t like veggie juices to taste like veggie juices, (V8 yuck) and I do have to say that this one does not taste like a veggie juice. You might like the green monster one better. It’s really tasty! 🙂